Every year since 2010, the President has dedicated the month of January to raise awareness about human trafficking and to educate the public about how to identify and prevent this crime. NOW members know that we cannot step away from the bipartisan commitment to protect and empower survivors of all forms of human trafficking; to prosecute traffickers, and end the scourge of slavery and human trafficking in the U.S. and around the world.
According to the International Labor Organization, $236 billion is made each year from human trafficking—or nearly $7,500 every second! Women and girls make up 54% of all victims worldwide, and are 78% of victims of forced commercial sexual exploitation. Here’s a fact sheet from Hope For Justice, which runs anti-trafficking projects all over the world.
There are estimated to be more than 27.6 million people—children and adults—subjected to sex trafficking around the world, including in the United States. Human trafficking often intersects with domestic violence, creating compounded layers of trauma for survivors.
What’s more, in a report from the Congressional Black Caucus titled, “Snapshot of the State of Black Women and Girls: Sex Trafficking in the U.S.,” the authors wrote:
“Research has indicated the continued sexualization of Black women and girls’ bodies, which has played out since slavery. The myths around Black women and girls’ hypersexuality and the continued treatment of Black girls as older than their age must be explored when looking at the data surrounding the prevalent rates of domestic sex trafficking of Black girls.”
We need to end this crisis NOW and stop the sexualization, slavery and human trafficking that continues to put women and girls in danger. NOW members are working to strengthen legislation to address human trafficking awareness and survivor support, bring traffickers to justice and make them pay.
You can find out more about ways to participate in National Slavery and Human Trafficking Awareness Month here.